The present invention relates to a remote control apparatus and more particularly to a remote volume control and on/off operation for a television receiver.
The remote control of the volume, as well as the on/off switch of a television receiver, has heretofore been generally accomplished by the utilization of an electronically controlled remote switching device which is to energize an electrical signal receiving apparatus located within the television receiver. This type of remote control apparatus is obtained at the time of the purchase of the television receiver. These complex electronic devices are very expensive and are applicable to only a small portion of television receivers. Their widespread use and adoption by the viewing public has been severely limited.
At the present time, as much as thirty percent of the television time is in the form of commercial advertisements. To a great many people, these commercial advertisements are not particularly desirable. In fact, if the sound of the television receiver could be turned off during these commercial advertisements, watching of television would definitely be more pleasurable. Also, people can freely converse when the sound of the television is not on. As soon as it is apparent from the television screen that the commercial is over, the person can increase the sound of the television to the normal level.
Although there have been attempts in the past at designing television station selectors, there has been no known device which is specifically designed to control the activation of the television receiver and also to control the sound volume of the receiver.